The present invention relates to a combined air purifier and destratifier for performing the combined function of purifying air in areas such as machine shops and other types of factories and also destratifying heated air for comfort heating purposes.
By way of background, air purifiers utilized in factories and machines shops are well known. Certain of these air purifiers are of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,538,657 which remove oil and other foreign particles from the air. In addition, this type of air purifier and demister has been used in combination with an electrostatic precipitator to remove smaller particles which are not removed by the demister. Air purifiers of the foregoing type, which are also known as mist collectors, are usually placed above the machinery in a machine shop where they cleanse the air from oil and other foreign matter. However, air purifiers of the foregoing type have negligible effect on the stratified heated air at the upper portions of the shop.
By way of further background, the heat generated by machining metal in a machine shop usually rises to the top of the shop from which it is lost through the roof. Attempts have been made in the past to utilize this stratified heated air for its heating potential. In this respect, circulating fans have been mounted on the ceiling in an attempt to cause the heated upper layers of air to mix with the lower layers. This was highly inefficient for a number of reasons, namely, because it created strong drafts and further because the turbulence from the fans caused undesirable circulation of foreign matter in the air. It is with the treatment of the problems of air purification and stratification of heated air in an expedient manner that the present invention is concerned.